Atheist Indonesian in protective custody after being beaten by mob
An Indonesian civil servant who posted a Facebook message asserting that God did not exist was taken into protective custody after being badly beaten by a mob, some of them his colleagues.
The atheist identified as Alexander, who goes by just one name, now faces five years imprisonment for blasphemy after police officially arrested and charged him on Friday.
The Indonesian Council of Ulema, the Islamic religious authority, reported him over his remarks on a Facebook page he moderated which said: "God does not exist" Mr Alexander, 31, turned up at his government planning offices in Dharmasraya, western Sumatra, on Wednesday to be confronted by a group of men who beat him and then took him to the police.
Born a Muslim, Mr Alexander ceased religious activities in 2008 saying he did not believe in God because of all the crime in the world and the number of natural disasters that befell mankind.
"If God exists, why do bad things happen?" he asked. "There should only be good things if God is merciful." The police chief for Dharmasraya, Senior Commander Chairul Aziz, said the 'ulema' and other religious authorities believed Mr Alexander had defiled Islam by using passages from the Koran to denounce God.
Under the Indonesian criminal code blasphemy is defined as publicly expressing feelings or taking some action that spreads hatred, abuse or taints a religion in a way it would cause someone to di*****elieve any of the country's six official religions.
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